Sylvie's Travels Home

January 29 and 30, 2024

For the 4th day in a row, the crocodile swam in front of our condo. I wonder who he’s waiting for…

I went to PT at 9am. Ishmael put a really hot compress on my elbow and nothing else. after 5 minutes, I used my translator to ask if he was going to treat my knees. He said yes and put compresses on my knees… I told him that last time he did ultrasounds and TENS. He finally did but not as long as he should have had. Doesn’t he take notes??

Pogo went to the grocery store. He ran into Stephanie so we gave her a ride back to her hotel. We met Derrick and Deidre at La Isla. We had a long talk with Larry from Edmonton, who has been going there daily for years for his breakfast. He is an even better customer than we are. (or as La Isla would say on Facebook: a costumer haha!).

We dropped Derrick at pickleball. Deidre went to snooze at the pool. Pogo and I watched whales jumping and frolicking in the bay.

Pogo, Deidre and I went next door for a relaxing massage at 2pm. Mine wasn’t very relaxing. It was actually painful. I had a strong man with rough hands and my legs will either be black and blue tomorrow or my arthritis will miraculously be cured. I also had a buttock massage for the first time. I find out later on that I was the only one that had one. Aren’t I the popular one! Derrick had a therapeutic massage after us and he is still in pain.

I went to visit Ryan, Mario and Josée’s grandson, who arrived on Sunday with his parents. He has been battling a fever for a few days. I brought him a few little things to keep him busy. He can’t wait to play cards with me. Hopefully we both feel good enough soon.

We had dinner at home: filet mignon, broccoli, salad and garlic bread.

Tuesday morning, the boys went to pickleball, surprise surprise. Deidre got up late as she didn’t feel good during the night. We went to Pata de Elefante for breakfast. I had the birria toast and it was sooo good! Pogo had the egg bagel. It was good but a little spicy for me. Derrick and Deidre both had the Vanilla Sky Bowl.

The boys dropped us off at the market because Deidre wanted to buy gifts for her employees. She got them cute wooden magnets with pictures of the region, from an Oregon photographer now living in Sayulita. She also got a bunch of necklaces for her store. We then walked to the Paradise Village mall where I needed to get something to drink. Despite the fact that it was cloudy, it was also very humid and I was again feeling very weak. We did a little more shopping. Deidre bought a dress then we took a taxi back. I spent the rest of the afternoon resting in bed. Pogo paid some bills, Derrick went to the pool and Deidre went for a walk.

We went to Mama Nena for dinner and all had either tortilla soup or chicken noodle soup for appetizers and Pogo and I had coconut shrimp for our main dish, Deidre had tequila shrimp and Derrick had Mama Nena shrimp. It was yummy. We went to Buongiorno at Paradise Village for gelato afterward. We were back by 9pm and ready for bed. Big party animals.

Meanwhile, Sherry, Dan and Moira sent pictures from home in Vermont and it looked frigid!

Maxime’s travels update:

I finally heard from Max who had been off the grid in the jungle of Borneo, staying with an indigenous tribe for a few days. Her, Luna and their guide had to hike 4 hours in the jungle to reach the longhouse of the Iban Tribe. They slept on the floor in a room with an older couple. The room was a combination of their bedroom/kitchen/living room. The toilets were outside and the “showers” were buckets of water. They did a 9 hour hike with their hosts to the river looking for food, fish and materials. They get everything from their land. She got a leech on her ankle and her guide ripped it off before it stuck on too long but she was bleeding! She said it was one of the most demanding physical challenge she had ever experienced. After hiking for another 4 hours out of the jungle, they drove 5 hours to town. She said it was insane, crazy, amazing and very very difficult. I wish I could include some of the videos she sent me. Today she flew to the Philippines, and sent me a picture of Luna and her during their 5 hour layover. Cuties! As I’m writing this, they just arrived in Coron, Philippines.